Which David do you agree with, David??
Ah well. Maybe it's because I've done so much varnishing, which is always designated as a "pink job", but I don't find it any more difficult to prepare than paint work. You have to use some sort of filler in the gaps, whichever coating you're using. Moreover, one thick coat of epoxy and two good coats of varnish are sufficient, inside, whereas I need at least 3 coats of paint over the epoxy and sometimes four.
I didn't really say what I meant, about paint showing the dirt. What I should have said was that paint stains and discolours over time, while varnish doesn't. Trying to keep the galley deckhead over the cooker white, has always been a losing battle, but any varnish in the same area just wipes clean. (I've also found a Formica galley top stains much more readily than a varnished one which, once again, just wiped clean rather than requiring copious applications of Jif.) Equally, scuff marks show more readily on paint than on varnish, and I find it easier to touch up small areas of damaged varnish than paint. The fading of wood inside is much more gradual than outside, from my experience and I don't recall ever having an issue with water staining: the epoxy helps prevent this.
However, at the end of the day, I simply love the appearance of varnished wood. It gives me a huge amount of pleasure to contemplate the grain and the variations of colour. I find something calming about it, so that coming below from an outside world of wind, waves and rain enhances the feeling of snugness when the hatch is closed tight. For me, time invested now results in enduring satisfaction in the future. Even if paint were a faster alternative, it would only lead me to wishing I hadn't been so impatient. I get a big kick out of choosing which pieces of wood to put where, but I certainly don't try and match them. On the contrary, I love the contrast of the different types. It's great to be building a thing of utility, but for me, the icing on the cake is building something which, to my eyes (the only ones that count) is also beautiful. I would add, that I have no aspirations towards perfection: my creation has many flaws and I know my limitations. A country cottage look, perhaps, but I'd prefer it if neither of us is distressed!
In truth, I feel no reason to justify my choice: it's as personal a decision as the clothes you wear - some like colours and patterns, some like dark and neutral.
On the other hand, for anyone considering how to finish their boat's interior, it is, in fact, a perfectly rational choice. But maybe, at the end of the day, varnishing is a "pink" job, because the love of varnish is a "pink" thing!